War Room: Loyalties - Hope

"Are your dead not allowed to know peace?"

Writer: Katharine Armitage

Format: Audio

Released: June 2026

Series: Gallifrey 15.03

Featuring: Romana II, Leela

Synopsis

Leela has a job to do, and she cannot do it alone, and so she enlists the most unlikely of allies for the task. Time is not on her side, and she must succeed, or else all of them are doomed.

Verdict

Hope was another very good episode to continue my way through the Loyalties fifteenth series and third instalment of Gallifrey's War Room. Things are slowly building and I'm impressed with how touchy the atmosphere is after now what is essentially three episodes of politics. Rassilon was eerily creepy here with his chessboard analogies to both Rasmus and Ollistra and he really is firmly focused on ascending as gods. That really is fascinating to see how deranged he has become despite being such a political and historical force for power. Ollistra isn't too bothered by that and I'm enjoying how she has hidden things from him with her position heading up the War Room. She's incredibly ruthless and definitely a control freak. Rasmus obtaining the Great Key to access the Matrix was really good and I liked the threat that came from the Cloister Wraiths. They're an intriguing element on Gallifrey and I thought they were presented just as eerily here as they were in Hell Bent. For Leela, it must have been very difficult to see Eris again after his emotional death in Resistance and that played very well here. I thought the reunion between Leela and Romana was tremendous and there seemed to be genuine emotion there. It's lovely to hear how these two former Fourth Doctor companions have built such a bond and their connection amidst the Time War feels even stronger. Leela having a conversation with a younger version of Narvin was really good and I liked that she knew immediately he wasn't the true article. She could see in his eyes how young he was. Touching upon Narvin's regenerative cycle again was intriguing but this story was all about Leela and Romana for me. And then it turned out this wasn't the real Romana at all! I must admit that took me by surprise but I was impressed that Rasmus knew. He'd seen in the files but him having to keep it secret from Leela to let Ollistra's diabolical test run its course was almost an act of betrayal. Especially at the moment he shot Romana dead! The description and sound effects of her not regenerating but burning up into nothing was great stuff and Leela's reaction sold everything about it. She was horrified and rightly so as you would expect seeing your long time friend who had been incarcerated in a pocket dimension essentially shot, burst into flames, and killed into nothingness. Not the regeneration you would typically expect of a Time Lord in her second incarnation. I thought the audacity of Rasmus was impressive as if he was wrong, then Romana would still have had to regenerate! Imagine if he was incorrect. Ollistra's test of a flesh avatar within the Matrix was certainly audacious and it's no surprise that she was so concerned by hearing the reports of two figures being within, especially when she knew their identity. Rasmus touching upon his past with his daughter and their strained relationship was strong emotional stuff too! That was a dark reminder of everything the Time War has taken away from him too. Romana needing a way out remaining a problem for the finale gives us direction and I do hope we get a full use of Lalla Ward there as it feels like she's been slightly wasted or underutilised so far. Plenty of time to rectify that though! Overall, a great episode! 

Rating: 8/10